Social Tensions and Acculturation: Portrayals of German Integration Discourse
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Running head: PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 1 Social Tensions and Acculturation: Portrayals of German Integration Discourse Soeren Wendland Liberty University PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 2 SOCIAL TENSIONS AND ACCULTURATION: PORTRAYALS OF GERMAN INTEGRATION DISCOURSE A Master Thesis for the Degree Master of Arts in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication by Soeren Wendland Approved by Thesis Committee: ________________________________________ Dr. Cecil Kramer, Chairperson ________________________________________ Dr. Gina Barker, Committee Member ________________________________________ Dr. Faith Mullen, Committee Member May 2, 2011 PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 3 Acknowledgements I want to thank my family for their support throughout the years. Also, I want to acknowledge the Liberty University Football Program. I am very thankful for the great opportunity that I received through their scholarship, which allowed me to accomplish things that I always dreamed of and grow athletically, academically, and spiritually. Special thanks goes to my friend Dan without whose help I would not have had the opportunity of coming to the US. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the professors that have made my learning experience in the US a very pleasant one. There are not a lot of places, where professors truly care about their students and are willing to help them, when they are in need. I also want to thank my wife for the happy blessing that she has been and the support with which she has blessed our marriage. It is true what a Football Coach in Germany once told me. “There is no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs.” PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 4 Abstract This Master Thesis deals with the portrayal of social tensions and acculturation perceptions resulting from German integration discourse. Wester, Pleijter, and Renckstorf‟s (2004) model for interpretative content analysis was applied to examine the portrayal of migrants and integration from three German online magazines. Germany‟s struggle with its multicultural aspect is described, a history of Germany as a multicultural society is provided, acculturation theory is described, the meaning of integration in Germany is illustrated, perceptions of Germans and foreigners on life in Germany are explored, and the role of the media in the integration discourse is introduced. Results show magazine portrayals of Germany as a functioning pluralistic society with integration deficiencies, in which integration is an important issue. Integration in Germany has a subtle undertone of assimilation, reflected in the view that migrants‟ are obligated to fulfill requirements that constitute successful integration. Integration problems are acknowledged that have existed in the past, exist today, and disturb the relationship between migrants and Germans. Migrants are blamed for integration problems, while the practice of Islam is causing friction in German society. The debate and images of migrants are portrayed as alienating migrants and leading them to question their understanding of themselves as part of German society. Keywords: Acculturation theory, integration debate, Germany, news portrayals, image-setting, social tensions. PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 5 Social Tensions and Acculturation: Portrayals of German Integration Discourse Acknowledgements 3 Abstract 4 Table of Contents 5 List of Tables 7 List of Appendixes 8 Chapter One 9 Introduction 9 Chapter Two 15 Literature Review 15 An Overview of Acculturation Theory 15 Germany as a Pluralistic Society: A Historic Overview 23 Integration in Germany 29 Foreigners in the Eyes of Germans 33 Foreigners‟ View on Life in Germany 36 Integration and the Role of Media 39 Chapter Three 45 Methodology 45 Sampling 46 Analysis Procedures 49 Chapter Four 51 Results 51 Soccer National Team 51 Step 1 and 5 51 Step 2 and 3 51 PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 6 Step 4 53 Step 6 53 Sarrazin Debate 60 Step 1and 5 60 Step 2 and 3 60 Step 4 63 Step 6 63 Step 7 and 8: Comparison of the Interpretative Frameworks 74 Chapter Five 77 Discussion 77 Limitations 84 Recommendations for Future Research 85 Conclusion 87 Bibliography 88 PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 7 List of Tables Table 1: Underlying & Repetitive Themes in the Soccer National Team Coverage 52 Table 2: Underlying & Repetitive Themes in the Sarrazin Debate Coverage 61 PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 8 List of Appendixes Appendix A: Tools for Analysis – The Soccer National Team 95 Appendix B: Tools for Analysis – The Sarrazin Debate 102 PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 9 Chapter 1 Introduction In 2006, 9% of Germany‟s population had an immigration background (Van Oudenhoven, Ward, & Masgoret, 2006). A look at Germany‟s soccer national team that participated in the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa reveals Germany‟s multicultural make-up. While Germany‟s 2010 soccer national team was on average the youngest team that Germany ever sent to a World Cup, it was also the most diverse German national team with more than 40% of its players coming from an immigration background. Whereas the German soccer national team with players that have immigration backgrounds such as Mesmut Oezil, Lukas Podolski, or Sami Khedira looked fully integrated and ready to take on the world‟s soccer elite, German policy debates have identified an integration problem that already has and is more and more leading to the emergence of parallel societies in Germany (Anil, 2007). This acknowledgment led to deeper political debate on how to go about the multicultural structures that are apparent in Germany. Perceptions about multicultural structures vary. While some politicians prefer the assimilation of migrants into the German society, migrants would rather integrate and embrace their cultural heritage (Zick, Wagner, van Dick & Petzel, 2001). Divergent views on acculturation orientations lead to conflict between Germans and migrants in Germany and have led to a pragmatic multiculturalism (Eckardt, 2007), which embraces integration as cultural and identificational assimilation (Schönwälder, 2010). At this point some terms are defined to help the understanding of the study. When entering a new environment, strangers are confronted with situations that lead to questioning of their cognitive and behavioral habits (Kim, 2001). During interaction with the environment, interaction with the host society, and internal conflicts within strangers, acculturation occurs, which is the change in original cultural patterns and modification of PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 10 social cognition and behaviors (Moon & Park, 2007; Zagefka & Brown, 2002; Kim, 2001). As uncertainty of migrant groups decreases over time through improving their understanding of cultural values, perceptions, cognitions, and behaviors of the host society, migrant groups and hosts co-exist harmoniously with a consensus of what approach to acculturation is desirable (Moon & Park, 2007; Zagefka & Brown, 2002). However, intergroup tensions and conflict can exist in contexts, where there is no consensus about what acculturation is desirable (Zagefka & Brown, 2002). Berry (2008) described four acculturation orientations that commonly occur within acculturating individuals in response to the host society, which are assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. The acculturation orientations of immigrant groups also impact the host societies on a broader scale. Acculturation orientations and their individual and sociological differences were explored in greater detail in the literature review section of this thesis. In short, assimilation is the abandonment of heritage culture and total immersion in the host society. Integration is the preservation of heritage culture and immersion in the host society. Separation is the preservation of heritage culture and wish of avoidance of the host society. Marginalization is the preservation of heritage culture and little to no relations with the host society (Berry, 2008). Another term that is important to define is multiculturalism. Multiculturalism as a concept from immigration theory proclaims ethnic and cultural pluralism (Heisler, 1992). As a sociological fact, multiculturalism refers to the demographic composition of societies in reference to cultural diversity (Wright, 2009). Berry (1980) defined a society, in which the demographic composition of multiple cultures is present, as a pluralistic society. Multiculturalism can also be used as a term in regard to government policy holding that “other” groups are recognized and represented (Wright, 2009). Heisler (1992) warned of tendencies to “equate the mere presence of ethnic groups and ethnic identities with multiculturalism” (p. 634). Just because a society has multicultural PORTRAYALS OF DISCOURSE 11 structures or demographics does not mean that government policy may fully acknowledge “other” groups. While multiculturalism is a two-folded term that is distinguishable by its use in context and can either refer to the demographic composition of a society‟s or a country‟s government policy in regard to immigration, this study refers to the multicultural demographic composition of a society as a pluralistic society and to the multicultural policy structure of a society as a multicultural society. Scholars acknowledged that German society has changed towards a pluralistic society and have explored multicultural aspects and discourses. For example, Luchtenberg and McLelland (1998) compared and analyzed newspaper content from Australian and German media to draw conclusions about the official policy with regard to multiculturalism.